Photo: WBZ NewsRadio Staff
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Massachusetts Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission has suspended 15 police officers statewide in its first disciplinary crackdown since being established.
The commission was created as part of a police reform law, passed in response to the killing of George Floyd in 2020. The commission created a system that police officers statewide need to be certified under, and the ability to suspend them.
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Most of the officers suspended by POST are facing accusations of a variety of public misdeeds, including State Trooper Matthew Sheehan, accused of opening fire on an ATV driver during an confrontation in 2018. The commission is legally required to suspend officers who are "arrested, charged or indicted for a felony." POST published the full list of officers on its website:
- Devon Bones, Holyoke Police Department
- Bryan Custadio, Fall River Police Department
- Leon Davis, Springfield Police Department
- Ernest Fontaine, Fitchburg State University Police Department
- David Forte, Needham Police Department
- Kevin Garneau, Lowell Police Department
- Nicholas Hoar, Fall River Police Department
- Tomas Morales, Woburn Police Department
- Keith O'Donnell, Somerville Police Department
- Brian Pomeroy, West Springfield Police Department
- Joseph Ponzo, Stoneham Police Department
- James Quilty, Natick Police Department
- Kevin Rooney, Watertown Police Department
- Matthew Sheehan, Massachusetts State Police
- Colby Turner, Worcester Police Department
Only the Fall River Police Department had more than one suspension: Bryan Custadio, who has since been fired according to the Fall River Herald News, and Nicholas Hoar, charged with beating an arrested man and lying about it.
WBZ's Jim MacKay (@JimMackayOnAir) reports:
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